Steven Universe episode 80: Crash and Burn
by FirestormGaming
Summary: When an escape pod crashes on the shores of Beach City, Steven discovers a terrible secret kept hidden from him by the Crystal Gems.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. This is my very own story continuing from Barn Mates. I have added all the info I could find about future episodes and will modify them with my own ideas to fit the main story. If you have any good, positive feedback you would like to share I will gladly listen. Thank you and enjoy :)

It was a beautiful mid-day in Beach city as the seagulls squawked above flapping their wings in the afternoon sea breeze. Steven was riding on the back of Lion as the two were strolling along the coastline. Lion yawned as he walked along, water splashing his paws as Steven stroked his luxurious pink mane. "...And then Connie told me that Dogcopter 5 would be coming out soon and then that got me thinking, how many more Dogcopter movies are they gonna have?" Steven smiled petting Lions soft, pink mane. "You're a good listener Lion, so how is your day going so far?" Lion growled licking his chops as he continued to walk along the water's edge. "Hm, seems about right." Steven chuckled.

"Steven!" Steven looked up hearing a familiar voice calling his name. Garnet stood along the ridgeline of a cliff that overlooked the beach. "Coming Garnet!" Steven called as he pointed to the cliff where Garnet stood. As if on cue, Lion turned and trotted up the beach and scaled the cliff wall landing behind Garnet. "Wohoo! Yeah perfect landing!" Steven pumped his fists in the air cheering. Garnet adjusted her visor looking at Steven, her usual serious expression plastered on her face. "Nice landing." Steven bowed grinning. "Why thank you Garnet, care for a ride?" Steven patted the empty space behind him. Garnet grinned. "Such a gentleman." She hopped onto Lion's back and with a mighty roar, Lion sprinted towards Beach City.

Amethyst sighed impatiently. "Ugh, where could they be? It's been like,a billion hours." Pearl rolled her eyes. "Amethyst it has not been a billion hours it's only been at least fourty-five minutes since Garnet left to get Steven." Amethyst was stretched out on the ground, hands behind her head, eyes closed. Pearl stood patiently waiting, tapping her arm and Lapis Lazuli was sitting on the ground crossed legged. "Final preparations, complete." A voice spoke from within the Barn. Peridot emerged brushing dust off her body. "The drill is now one-hundred percent operational." She crossed her arms. "Where are the others? I specifically asked for us all to be here. The longer we fool around, the closer the Cluster gets to emerging." She tapped her foot rapidly and impatiently.

Pearl sighed. It was hard having to put up with Amethyst and her childish demeanor but Peridot was something else. It was hard to believe she was now a member of the Crystal Gems but Pear had to remind herself she once thought the same way Peridot did.. Pearl suddenly heard footsteps and turned as Steven, Lion and Garnet emerged from the path that lead back to Beach City. "Hi guys." Steven waved as he and Garnet climbed off Lions back. "Hey Steven, what's shakin'" Amethyst lept to her feet. Steven chuckled. "Nothing much, you could say it was a, 'Shaky' ride over here." Steven chuckled at his own bad joke. None of the other Gems laughed.

"Yes, anyway moving on now that the drill is complete, I recommend we do some 'Basic' testing." Peridot paced back and forth, hands behind her back pondering. "First thing's first we will need a suitable testing site to see if the drill is fully functional and is capable of destroying the Cluster." She stopped deep in thought. Steven raised his hand "What about the Kindergarten?" Peridot facepalmed. "We can't immediately start drilling at the Beta Kindergarten. We don't even know if the Drill is ready to-" Garnet stopped her mid-sentence. "I think what Steven means is, we should test the Drill at the _prime_ Kindergarten away from the Cluster."

Peridot pondered this idea. "Hm…...Yes that will suffice. Considering we are going to another Kindergarten, the Prime Kindergarten will serve as a perfect simulation for what is to come."

Pearl smiled clapping her hands together. "Alright then, now that that's settled let's start moving this thing back to the beach and onto the Warp pad so we can begin." Steven hopped up as the other Gems went into the Barn to move the drill and made his way over to Lion. "Steven….." he turned seeing Lapis standing there, hands behind her back as she looked at the ground, tracing a circle with her foot. "Oh, hi Lapis. Is uh….everything ok?" Lapis walked up to Steven looking at him with a look of sadness on her face as she forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm ok. Do you mind if I hitch a ride back to your Temple?"

Steven hopped on Lion's back and patted the empty space behind him. Lapis hopped on adjusting her skirt as Lion stood up and started to run back towards Beach City. "Uh...Lapis? Is...Everything ok?" Steven clutched onto Lion's mane, eyes forward and focused on the road ahead that lead back into Beach City. " I…..I don't know Steven." She looked at the moving ground as she clutched onto Steven's back careful not to fall off. " Ever since I unfused with…... _Her_ … I just haven't really been feeling myself. Homeworld probably has me branded as a traitor so I can't return, I'm stuck on a miserable rock that at any moment could be blown to oblivion and I was fused for several months with a psychotic Gem soldier at the bottom of your planet's ocean."

She clutched Steven's shirt tighter with every word. her blue hair whipping back behind her in the wind as they raced downtown passing cars, people and businesses. "I feel like there is nowhere for me to go, no one want's me and no one needs me." She sighed sadly. "I have no home… not anymore." Steven kept looking ahead as Lion slowed down as they passed the Funland Arcade. "Hey, it's ok…..you have us." Lapis loosened her grip. "You don't understand Steven, your friends knew I was trapped in the mirror and even though I have somewhat forgiven them for that on your behalf, I still can't forgive Peridot. She was the one who took me back here and now I'm stuck here for good it seems."

Steven patted Lion's mane looking both ways before they crossed the road, He knew why Lapis was so upset. She had recently been forced to fight Alexandrite after Jasper had taken control and had saved Peridot and him from a Roaming Eye, sent to destroy Peridot. And then there was the situation of Jasper escaping captivity and fighting Garnet at the heart of the temple. Even though she had been free from her fusion bond with Jasper there was still something off about Lapis and he could tell. "I thought you two made up back at the Barn though, after all you did save us from the Roaming Eye."

Lapis sighed. "Steven, just because I helped her escape capture doesn't mean we made up. I only meant to save you from the Roaming Eye not her, she was just…... _there._ I still don't understand why I saved her." Lapis looked down at the Blue diamond symbol on her dress and sighed sadly. "Lapis….." Steven began but was cut short. CRACKBOOM!

Steven, Lapis and Lion all jumped, spooked by the mysterious noise. It was louder than any explosion Steven had ever heard. "Steven!" Lapis shouted. Steven turned to look at her, she was pointing at the sky behind them and when Steven followed her finger to where she was pointing he gasped. A flaming object was hurtling out of the sky in the direction of the beach. It flew over the Barn as the Gems ran outside to watch. It sank lower and lower as it got closer to Beach City. Residents were watching as it roared past above, Mayor Dewey gasped dropping his megaphone as it clattered to the ground.

Steven followed it with his eyes as it moved out of sight, behind The Big Donut store. "What was that?!" Lapis shouted her eyes filled with worry. Steven shrugged looking just as worried as she was. "I don't know, it looked like a meteor or some kind of satellite." Lapis opened her mouth to speak but was cut short. BOOOOMMM! Steven clutched onto Lion squeezing his eyes shut as Lapis clutched onto him shouting as the ground shook tremendously, sending people all around them in a panic as they grabbed onto anything cemented or nailed down as the earth around them trembled. Finally after a few seconds the shaking stopped and Steven opened his eyes.

The citizens of Beach city were running indoors and hiding in buildings locking doors and shutting windows. A few stayed outside to investigate as Mayor Dewey stood up straightening his tie and clearing his throat as he picked up his megaphone. "Residents of Beach City please, remain calm I'm sure it was just a meteorite or some form of space junk hahaha." He laughed nervously as he looked at Steven and beckoned for him to come over. Steven hopped off Lion and turned to Lapis. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Steven ran to Mayor Dewey. "Steven! What was that?!" Mayor Dewey ran his hand through his balding hair shaking a little. "I'm…...not sure." Steven looked back, he saw smoke billowing from the beach and it only further worried him. "As the Mayor of Beach City I have a right to know what is going on especially if it involves objects falling from the sky. Space debris can be bad for my campaign." Mayor Dewey adjusted his tie clearing his throat.

"Steven!" Steven turned as he saw running towards him, halting right in front of him Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. Pearl activated her gem removing her spear, Amethyst produced her whip and Garnet activated her gauntlets. "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl!" Steven looked back at the smoking column rising from the beach. "What was that?" Garnet looked in the direction of the smoke, fists raised as if ready for combat. "I'm not sure, but we better take a look just to be safe." Steven looked around. "Uh, where's Peridot?" Peridot came running into view from around the corner panting. "W….wait for OOMPH!" Peridot ran into Garnet's leg falling back down rubbing her head. "Watch it you clo-uh I mean Garnet." Peridot stood brushing dust off of her body

Together, the six Crystal Gems ran to the beach as Mayor Dewey hoped into his van and drove around speaking into the microphone calming the Beach City citizens and encouraging them out of their homes.

Meanwhile on the beach, the smoke began to clear bit by bit revealing a dented, worn and damaged pod. It was somewhat identical to Peridot's escape pod except slimmer and more oval-shaped. The glass hatch on the top of the pod was cracked and smoke hissed from the cracks as the pod door slowly creaked open. A shadowy figure stood up and quickly covered its eyes, protecting them from the sun. Finally after a few seconds it put it's hands down looking around. Water lapped the shores, seagulls sang in the wind and the sun shone down below.

The figure waved a bit of smoke to clearly see the ground that surrounded its pod. The figure observed the ground, and finally with hesitation crouched down and touched the ground. Its finger grazed the sand as it quickly withdrew its hand. It rubbed its fingers together feeling some of the rough sand between its thumb and middle finger. Cautiously it gingerly put one foot onto the sand withdrawing it, then putting it back down as it slowly took a few steps, wobbling a bit. The sand beneath its feet felt….hot. Warming and welcoming. The figure looked around. Finally its gaze rested upon the Crystal Temple and the figure froze with fear. It looked around quickly and spotted a settlement. A perfect place to hide. It took one more glance around before sprinting in the direction of Beach City.

Steven and the others finally made it to the beach. Steven immediately spotted the smoking crater and the trail behind it. He ran to it but was stopped by Pearl. "Steven! Get back here!" She pulled him back carefully. "We don't know what's in there or what landed there." Steven tugged anxious to see what lie within the crater. "I hope it's a space rock, or a moon rock or a piece of a satellite!" He bounced excitedly as Garnet walked past him in the direction of the crater.

Garnet bent down looking at the object within the massive hole. There was something familiar about it, something she had seen before a long long time ago. But what? She scraped off a bit of sand from the side careful as not to damage or scratch the object. She gasped. "Pearl! Peridot! Come here!" Steven looked at them both puzzled as both Peridot and Pearl walked over to where Garnet was crouching. Steven glanced at Amethyst and Lapis, a confused and worried look on his face. Amethyst shrugged her shoulders and Lapis bit her lip with fear.

"It can't be, I thought they were all destroyed eons ago." Pearl kept staring at the pod, frazzled.

Garnet placed her gauntlet on her chin thinking. "So did I, but then again Homeworld kept many secrets hidden from it's own people." Garnet said, stroking the side of the pod feeling the dents.

"Hm…." Peridot examined the pod front to back, side to side, top to bottom. She slowly opened the hatch as steam billowed out sending everyone into a coughing fit. Once the smoke was clear Peridot peered inside. It was empty, obviously. A few buttons and dials were damaged and a cracked-gem computer screen flickered on and off with the word ERROR flashing in red, accompanied by a siren. The seat was cracked and damaged as wires and gem-liquid spilled out from underneath the seats sparking like sparklers on the Fourth of July.

"This pod is ancient, compared to standard gem pods these days." Peridot spoke aloud as she hopped out of it. "I am unable to access the logs recorded onto the database of the console mainly due to internal system damage. Long story short I can't tell what was in here before it crashed." She spoke, pacing around the pod one more time.

"We can't let anyone else see, especially Steven. If he found out that-" Steven stopped behind Pearl as she spoke to get a closer look at the pod. Pearl however hadn't heard Steven behind her. "Found out about what? Steven asked looking up. Pearl jumped yelling. "N-nothing Steven, everything is juuuussst fi-" Suddenly, a large explosion rocked the beach as the earth shook and swayed. Steven looked behind him and gasped. A huge, glowing fireball roared from the center of Beach City. "Guys! What was that?!" Steven yelled as he heard the wailing sound of firetrucks in the distance.

"It's in the city!" Pearl shouted pointing to the fireball, as smoke as black as the night sky billowed out from the flames. Garnet gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in anger. "What was that?! It came outta nowhere!" Lapis yelled as she covered her mouth in horror. "Listen up!" Garnet stood up, her face now calm but dead serious as well as angry. "Amethyst, Pearl, follow me. The rest of you stay here, that means you too Steven." Steven looked at her surprised. "What? but-" Garnet stopped him. "Stay here with Lapis and Peridot! And if you see anything out of the ordinary, hide or go into the temple!" She said as she turned and started to walk away. "But-" Steven began but once again Garnet stopped him. "Steven, listen to me! Do as I say and everything will be fine!" Garnet beckoned Amethyst and Pearl to follow as the three lept into the sky and off to Beach City. "What is going on around here?!" Lapis cried out running to Steven looking back at the fireball as Peridot peered out from behind Steven's shirt at the orange glow pulsing from the city as the wail of sirens grew louder. "Steven shook his head, a look of fear in his eyes as the flames mirrored in his reflection. "I don't know…..they've never been this panicked before."

Within the City, chaos reigned. People were screaming and running in the opposite direction of the flames that now engulfed the center of Beach City. The Fire department roared past the panicked crowd, sirens wailing as they skidded to a halt in front of the flames, hopping out and hooking up the hoses to the fire hydrants with incredible fireman signaled to his partner with a thumbs up and the man turned and open fired on the roaring blaze. The man wiped his brow, his suit growing hotter and hotter with every second and every minute. Curiously, the flames weren't dying. Every time they were sprayed with water they re-lit, hotter than ever. The man signaled for his partner to increase the flow, full force. His partner nodded and gave it everything they had. Slowly but surely, the flames began to die as both firefighter teams sprayed from all sides with massive amounts of water. As the flames began to die, the firefighters began to see an object lying beneath the flames….

A charred bit of metal was revealed as the crew kept spraying revealing more and more of the mysterious object. One of them shouted and pointed. A slightly charred, but rather intact head of Mayor Dewey was revealed as they kept spraying. It was the head that had once sat on top of his political van. A few feet away, Mayor Dewey stood, shaken but otherwise fine as he waved for people to follow him out of the City to safety.

WHOOM! The earth shook once more, sending the firefighters into a panicked state, wobbling on their own two feet trying to focus long enough to keep the flow of water going. The Crystal gem's stood from where they had landed and and began observe the scene around them. Panic, chaos and destruction. Garnet looked around as people ran past them, desperately trying to get away from the danger. "GARNET!" Garnet turned seeing Steven's father, Greg run up to them. He was wiping sweat from his face as he frantically looked around a look of worry in his face. "Where's Steven?! Is he ok?!" He yelled, grabbing Garnet's arm tightly. Garnet nodded. "He's fine!" She yelled back, pointing to the beach. "He's safe and sound back at the temple! Don't worry about it Greg! Now hurry, you need to get out of here!" She lifted Greg up and set him down in front of her. "But I need to see Steven, I'm his father and I need to look out for him!" Greg turned as the flames suddenly roared, arching higher and growing bigger in width. Garnet blocked a geyser of fire that shot out from the orange flames. She pointed to where everyone else was running to. It's not safe Greg, I'm sorry, but we need you to evacuate now for your safety!" "Greg shook his head. "But Steven needs me! I can't just-woooah!" Garnet stopped him, picking him up and running. Amethyst and Pearl followed, looking around to make sure the area was clear. She placed Greg in the crowd of panicked citizens moving out of Beach City. "He wants you safe, not dead!" He WILL be fine Greg, you have my word!" Garnet shouted. Greg looked at her, then back at all the panicked people and finally tuned to her and nodded. Garnet nodded back and beckoned for Amethyst and Pearl to follow her as the three ran back into the danger zone of Beach City.

Back in Beach City the fire slowly died down. It billowed white smoke out like a volcano as it hissed away. Garnet walked up to the fire crew. "You all need to leave immediately. It's not safe here." The fire chief tilted his head confused. "Wha-" Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, just trust us." The fire chief looked at his crew, then back to Garnet. "Alright. But if the fire starts up again, don't blame us if it burns down all of Beach City." Garnet let go of his shoulder turning around, clenching her fists. "Trust me, it won't." The fire chief nodded to his crew and walked away to pack up all of their equipment. "Gems, split up and find the source of the fire. It may still be around here." Amethyst took out her whip twirling it around. "So what are we looking for again?" She yawned stretching. "Amethyst please! Take this seriously." Pearl replied looking around and arming herself with her spear. "Gems move out!" Garnet shouted as they separated.

Pearl sprinted past several buildings, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "Even if we stop this thing how are we supposed to capture it?" She murmured to herself. CRASH! She skidded to a halt. She backtracked, passing a darkened alley between two building and stopped. She peered into the alley cautiously. A dark figure, covered by the shadows cast by the two buildings, stood directly in the center looking around. "H-halt!" Pearl rose her spear up, shaking ever so slightly not out of fear, but out of nervousness. The figure quickly whipped its head around to look at Pearl and started to run. "Oh no you don't!" She took off after the figure, hopping gracefully over trash cans and muddy puddles. The figure leapt into the air, hopping from building to building as it scaled the wall with ease. Pearl chucked her spear at it but the figure dodged it with ease and finally, grabbing the edge, made it to the top of one of the buildings and moved out of sight. Growling, she followed pursuit scaling the buildings just like it had done. She was only a few inches away from the top, so close. She finally made it to the edge of the roof and slowly pulled herself up. When she raised her head she gasped. WHACK! Pearl groaned in pain as she fell back to earth, smashing against the wall opposite from the building she had attempted to climb onto and finally tumbled and landed on her back onto the trash cans below her, crushing one and scattering the rest. She groaned as she tried to stand but to her dismay she couldn't. She was still weakened by the impact.

The figure looked down upon her and finally after a few seconds, hopped off the roof. The shadowy figure extended both arms and legs out, sliding down the wall with grace and ease. It backflipped and landed on it's own two feet right in front of studied her for a few seconds, then it grabbed her and lifted her up, pinning her against the wall. Pearl cried out in pain and grabbed the figures hands. Pearl noticed something on it's left hand: a Gem. It was oval shaped and was pulsing with an eerie orange glow. She tried to sweep kick the figure but was blocked by its foot sweeping hers away. "Let…...Me GO!" She shouted. The figure held on for a little while longer, then finally with one motion tossed her aside as she fell into a trash can and hit the floor hard, grunting in pain. The figure looked at her one last time before it turned and sprinted away.

"Pearl!" Pearl looked up dazed. Amethyst and Garnet were running towards her. She tried to get off the ground but fell back down groaning. Garnet and Amethyst stopped in front of her. Garnet bent down helping Pearl up. "Which way?" Amethyst asked. Pearl pointed silently as she rubbed her head as she felt bruised all over. Her cheek was swollen a bit and her clothes were ripped slightly.

Amethyst lept over the injured Pearl and took off running brandishing her whip. "I got this!" She cried out as she turned the corner and was out of sight. "Amethyst!" Garnet called out but it was too late. "What happened?" Garnet asked as she slowly helped Pearl to her feet. "I was following it up the building and when I reached the top it kicked me down." Pearl took a step and wobbled a bit. "Take it easy Pearl, let yourself recover. Amethyst and I will pursue it." Garnet said. "But-" Pearl began but was stopped as Garnet softly sat her down, leaning her against a wall. "Stay here and recover, I have a feeling things will get uglier soon." Garnet took off in the direction Amethyst went. Pearl looked around. A rat passed under her foot carrying a slice of pizza. Pearl shrieked, pulling her legs to her chest. "AAUUGGH! Get away you diseased, plague spreading beast!" The rat took one look at her and quickly scurried away, dragging it's pizza with it. Pearl shuddered. "I hope I don't have to wait here much longer, this is disgusting…..this trash should be more organized." She sighed. She only hoped they could stop this thing before it got out of hand any more….

Amethyst pursued the figure up the street, brandishing her whip menacingly. The figure front flipped over several parked cars in the way. Amethyst whipped each car in half, causing several of them to explode in a massive fireball as she front flipped through the fire after the figure. "Woah! Hot bod! Hot bod!" She patted some of the flames that stuck to her clothes as she whipped the figure, catching it's back heels with a mighty CRACK! The figure stumbled and quickly turned right into a nearby parking lot. "Haha! Got you now!" Amethyst laughed. What was Pearl so worried about? This was easy. She turned the corner and skidded to a halt. "Looks like you're in trouble now." Amethyst twirled her whip grinning. The figure turned to face her. "Hyah!" Amethyst lunged arching her whip over her head and swinging it to the side. The figure leapt up, backflipping in the air and landing on the roof of a car. Amethyst readied another attack, twirling her whip to the side. "What's the matter? Not a talker?" She chuckled as she watched the figure get into a battle ready stance, crouching slightly. The shadowy figure slowly raised its left hand in front of its face, the back of its hand facing forward as it slowly clenched its fist. Amethyst squinted for a better look then gasped.

An orange light glowed brightly on the back of the figures left hand as it raised its right hand to its left hand. Suddenly a handle appeared out of the figures hand. The mysterious figure grabbed the handle and pulled out the object. Amethyst thought it looked like a dagger. The blade was short and pointed and was about a quarter of an arms length long. The figure slowly raised the object over its head, passing the handle from its left hand to its right hand and with one swift motion flicked the handle at the ground as suddenly the glowing orange and white blade grew longer, expanding to about 90 cm long. As the glowing orange light died, Amethyst could see the object more clearly. It wasn't a dagger it was a sword. The handle was wrapped with black lines as red triangles ran up and down the handle wrapping. The handle was curved slightly. The pommel was in the shape of a golden star. Amethyst could see the guard was a sort of golden/ dark orange metal and shaped like a fireball, golden lines outlining the flames from within. The guard curved around the blade, shaped like flames. The blade was golden and it glimmered and shined in the sun.

Amethyst was shocked as she felt frozen. Finally she snapped out of it and lunged yelling, swinging her whip downward. The figure sidestepped as the whip wrapped around its sword. "Haha! Gotcha!" Amethyst yelled victorious as she began to pull the figure toward her. The figure grabbed the whip quickly, careful to avoid the spikes on her whip and pulled back with force. Amethyst flew forward holding on as tight as she could. "WOOOAAAHHH!" She yelled as she flew towards the figure, wind whipping her hair back. The figure raised a fist back and just as Amethyst was about to collide with the figure it punched forward. WHAM! Amethyst flew back yelling as she smashed into a car denting it's side doors and spilling glass everywhere. Amethyst groaned and rubbed her head, the car alarm ringing in her ears.

The figure walked toward her swinging its sword all over from hand to hand with grace and elegance as it stabbed its sword into the ground a few feet away from Amethyst and picked up her discarded whip off the floor. The figure lifted Amethyst up by her shirt as she struggled to break free from her captor. She tried to bite the figure but it held her at bay with ease. The figure wrapped the whip around her, tying her up. She struggled but couldn't break free, she couldn't get the whip loose enough. The figure stared at her for a few seconds but stopped, hearing fast footsteps coming nearer. The figure quickly tossed Amethyst aside. "Hey-OOF!" Amethyst grunted as she bounced off the ground, landing against a brick wall, cracking it slightly with the impact. The figure grabbed its sword and sprinted away quickly.

Amethyst struggled to get free, wriggling along the ground like a worm out of the dirt. She growled angrily, biting her whip in hopes of getting free. "Amethyst!" Amethyst looked up. Garnet ran up to her and bent lower to help Amethyst. Amethyst shook her head "Forget about me, you have to stop that thing before it escapes." Garnet stopped and nodded. "I'll just chill here and wait for Pearl. Go get it Garnet." Garnet smiled and nodded. She stood up and sprinted off in the direction the figure had run in.

Garnet looked around as she sprinted past building after building. She stopped and listened to the sounds around her. The wind rustling the trees, the sounds of the ocean, sounds of trash flying in the wind yet she could not hear footsteps. She closed her eyes, sensing her target. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and leapt back. A sword blade suddenly swung down on the spot she had been just seconds ago, smashing against the ground and cracking the street. Garnet got into a battle ready stance as the figure leapt out into the open, swung its sword and pointed it at her. Garnet grinned confidently as she beckoned with one hand for the mysterious figure to bring it on.

The figure leapt at her, and swung across. She lept back again and spin kicked the figure. It blocked the attack with a defensive block and tried to kick Garnet in the ribs with its left knee. She batted it away and the two pushed off each other, landing a few feet away from each other. Garnet readied herself as the figure ran at her, raising the sword above its head and slicing down. She raised her gauntlets up high and blocked it easily. The figure backflipped and lunged at her, jabbing and slicing at her. She blocked and dodged every attack and finally, seeing an opening, punched the figure in the gut. The figure flew back and smashed into a store window, disappearing as it landed inside the store. Garnet relaxed a bit and lowered her fists slightly. The store was dark, zero visibility and she couldn't see inside.

Suddenly a fireball flew out of the window heading in Garnet's direction. She punched it skyward as it rocketed towards the clouds. She looked back at the store. The figure stepped out of the broken window, sword raised in front of its face. "Give up now! Or I will destroy you!" She yelled at the figure. It crouched low, sword back and ready to pounce. Garnet readied herself as the figure leapt at her again. It swung the sword across and Garnet blocked it by raising her hands in front of her chest. The figure aimed for her head slicing across one more. She ducked, not knowing what would happen next. The figure kneed her in the jaw as she was ducking, stunning her. She staggered back and tried to shake it off but too late. The figure leapt kicked Garnet, catching her in the chest hard. Garnet gritted her teeth silently as she hit the ground hard and tumbled a few feet away. Her visor fell off during the fall as she stopped herself by digging into the ground with her fists. Dazed and winded, she slowly tried to get off the ground, keeping her head ducked so as to hide her face.

The figure advanced towards her slowly, pausing to look at the visor on the ground. It tilted its head slightly and after a few moments shook its head and advanced forward. Garnet could see it coming, closer and closer. It stopped right in front of her and stared at her for a few minutes. Finally it slowly raised its sword above its head and prepared to strike. Garnet slowly looked up, a look of anger on her face. When the figure saw her face it stopped, staring at her. Garnet stared back menacingly as the figure stood still its sword still poised to strike. Slowly the figure lowered its sword and began to back away slowly. Garnet watched as the figure looked around. It seemed almost…..panicked. The figure turned its head towards the beach and taking one last look at Garnet, took off towards the beach.

"Garnet!" Garnet saw Amethyst and Pearl making their way towards her, Pear was limping slightly and Amethyst had a few cuts on her body. She stood up, brushing some debris off of her. "What happened? Where did it go?!" Pearl cried looking around frantically. Garnet walked calmly over to her visor, picked them up and put them on her face. She turned in the direction of the beach, a look of worry on her face.

"Oh no….." Pearl gasped covering her mouth. Garnet growled. "Gems MOVE!" Together the three sprinted off in the direction of the beach, hoping that Steven would be ok.

"KRSST! This is Steven Universe reporting in. Star log 21380, still no signs of life out here in space. Wait….OH NO! WERE UNDER ATTACK AAUUUUGGGHH! MAYDAY! MAYDA!" Steven cried shaking around inside the damaged pod. Lapis watched him smiling a bit. She was sitting down on the hot, warm sand next to a sleeping Lion while Peridot yelled at Steven, her fists balled up tight with anger. "STEVEN, ENOUGH YOU'RE GONNA BREAK SOMETHING IMPORTANT!" Steven chuckled. "Relax Peridot nothing is gonna break." He said as he hopped out of the pod and walked towards the back. He banged his fists against two of the rockets as they jiggled and rocked, making a loud BANG BANG BANG that reverberated from the crafts inner mechanisms. Peridot cringed and went back to examining the pod grumbling about humans and noise. Steven smiled happily. Suddenly a shadow fell over Steven. He turned half expecting to see Garnet standing behind him, but was in total shock when he saw who it was.

It was a male figure, about Pearl's height but slightly taller. He was young looking, almost in his twenties (Though Steven knew gems were much much older than humans). He was a bit muscular Steven saw, but he was also skinny. He had spikey, messy orange, yellow and red hair that was shaped and styled to look like fire. His jaw was slightly pointed and muscular. His skin was a light orange/tan almost like a sort of peach but more orange. He wore a dark orange karate robe with long sleeves. Two leather straps went over his shoulder and connected to a leather circle in the center of his chest that held a White diamond symbol on it. A single leather strap slanted at the bottom which was connected to his red karate belt. He wore a single bit of gold pauldron shoulder armor on his right shoulder which glimmered in the sunlight. He wore fingerless black gloves on both hands. On his left hand Steven could see an orange, oval shaped gem, which glowed ever so slightly. He wore long orange pants which were tucked into a set of long combat boots which were decorated with flames.

Steven looked at him for a few minutes, terrified. The figure glared back at him for a few minutes then walked past him. Gulping as he tried to summon what little courage remained, Steven crouched behind the pod anxious to see what this gem would do. Who…..is he? Steven thought to himself. The Crystal gems had told Steven there had never been a single male gems besides himself. So then who was this?

Peridot mumbled to herself as she ripped open a panel from within the pod. Indeed it was comprised of old gem tech, that much she had deduced. But who in their right mind would use such primitive and ancient tech for space travel? A shadow suddenly fell over her, obscuring her vision. She growled. If Steven didn't stop pestering her she was going to lose her mind. "RRGH! STEVEN! DO YOU MI-AAAGH!" She squealed and fell back, dropping the panel onto the floor of the pod in surprise. A male figure was watching her as he gripped the hatch of the pod tightly in his hand , a surprised look on his face. Suddenly his look changed from one of surprise, to one of fury and rage. He let off a slight orange glow as he growled, grabbing Peridot by her shirt and lifting her up into the air. She struggled and thrashed around, desperate to get out of his grip as she looked at him utterly terrified. "Aah…...aah….aah…." She tried to speak, but no words could escape her lips. "Filthy Homeworld gems! I won't let you shatter me!" He cried out.

Lapis looked up to see what all the commotion was about. When she saw the man she gasped in surprise and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. The figure turned to look at her and froze. His eyes widened as his mouth fell open in shock and awe. The two stared at one another for a few seconds, neither speaking as if they were speaking with their eyes rather than their mouths. Finally the figure looked away, his anger returning as he threw Peridot aside as hard as he could. Peridot cried out as she tumbled and rolled across the sand, finally smashing against the temple wall spraying debris and sand everywhere as a few rocks tumbled on top of her burying her in rubble. "PERIDOT!" Steven cried out with horror as he turned to look at the man. He gasped in alarm as he watched the man slowly walk towards Lapis as fire began to outlining his body, glowing brighter with every step he took. He reached towards his left hand and pulled out a sword, igniting the blade on fire as he got closer to her. Steven gasped in horror and ran towards Lapis as fast as he could, hoping he could save her from the assailant.

Lapis slowly backed away terrified. She didn't know what to do for her mind had gone blank like a recently erased chalkboard. All she could do was watch in horror as the man got closer and closer with every step he took, sword raised in front of him ready to strike at any moment. She felt something solid behind her as she frantically felt the object that now blocked her escape. She had backed herself into a corner and there was no escape. She looked behind her desperate for a way out but to no avail. The temple wall towered above her casting her in shadow as she looked back to face the pyromaniac. He was getting closer and closer, breathing heavily with rage as the flames from his sword illuminated the shadows that covered Lapis revealing her cowering form as she whimpered with fear.

He stopped within a few inches of her. Lapis closed her eyes as she waited for the end to come. She could hear his heavy breathing and could feel the intense heat radiating off his body. She felt her skin burn slightly as it grew hotter and hotter with every second.

"You Homeworld gems should have left me alone…. . I vowed never to serve the Diamonds ever again and I won't let you turn me in and shatter my gem!" He growled. He raised his sword above his head and prepared to strike at Lapis. He swung down with all his might roaring with rage. WHABOOOOMM! He staggered backwards and shook his head, dazed. When his head finally cleared he looked up and gasped in shock at what he saw.

Steven stood in front of Lapis crouched in a defensive stance, His shield in front of the two. Luckily he had been there right at that exact moment the man had taken his swing at Lapis. Steven turned to Lapis, a look of concern on his face. "You ok Lapis?" She gulped and nodded silently. Steven smiled slightly and turned to face the man, dissolving his shield.

The man stood dumbfounded as the flaming aura that surrounded him died away. "Your a male gem…..." he said surprised. He pointed at Steven confused. "You…"Steven shut his eyes tight preparing for the worst. But nothing happened. "You saved her….why would you save her?" Steven slowly opened his eyes and looked at the man. He stood there confused and amazed, as if this was something he had never seen before.

"What do you mean? You attacked her." Steven replied confused. "But…..she's a female gem." The man said. "Yeah, so?" Steven was completely lost. "There kind are dangerous, they-ARGH!" The man suddenly cried out in pain as he flew sideways, hitting the ground over and over again as he tumbled and smashed into the side of the hill that lead up to the Crystal temple, causing sand and rock to fly everywhere. Steven covered his eyes to protect himself from the debris that rained down on both him and Lapis. After a few seconds he opened his eyes slowly. "Garnet!" He cried surprised. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl stood in front of Steven and Lapis weapons drawn and ready to fight. "Steven stay back!" Garnet shouted as the dust settled.

The man groaned and slowly got to his feet. His sword had flown into the water and now he was unarmed and defenseless. "You…...you think you can stop me? I…...I won't give up! I will fight to honor all of my fallen brothers that were slain by Homeworlds hand!" He cried as he clutched his chest, breathing heavily.

Steven could hear a slight quiver in the man's voice. Something that hadn't been there before. Almost as if…"He's afraid." Steven spoke aloud to himself. "Surrender now!" Garnet shouted, preparing to attack. Pearl and Amethyst followed Garnets lead. "Never! I don't take orders from the likes of you"! He cried. Garnet gave a slight nod to Amethyst and Pearl and together the three charged at the man. He crouched low, one arm back and one arm in front as he prepared to fight back. Pearl leapt at him twirling her spear above her head as she swung it down at him. The man sidestepped quickly, dodging her attack as she slammed her spear into the sand. He leapt forward, kneeing her in the face hard as she flew across the beach. She slammed into the sand a few feet away, groaning as she slowly got on her hands and knees dazed.

Amethyst ran forward and rolled into her spin dash maneuver and flew at the man at top speed. The man front flipped forward and landed behind Amethyst. Amethyst made a sharp turn and rolled towards him again. This time the man was ready. He raised both fists above his head and just as Amethyst was about to slam into him he brought both fists down hard. WABOOOM! Amethyst slammed into the sand hard spraying sand particles everywhere. The man hopped over her and prepared for the next fight as she slowly lifted her head up spitting out sand. Her eyes dropped and she fell face first back onto the sand, groaning.

Garnet crouched down low and then, clenched her gauntlet covered fists, lunged at the man, pulling one fist back as she drove it forward catching him in the stomach. The man cried out as he flew back into the rocky wall hard, raining debris and chunks of rock onto him as he fell to one knee. Garnet ran at him leaping into the air, one fist back as she swung at his head. The man quickly rolled to his right just as her fist made contact with the stone wall, creating a large hole where his head used to be. The man, still crouched low onto the ground, lifted his left leg and kicked Garnet in the side hard. Garnet spun away as she stumbled a bit on the soft sand and finally came to a stop a few feet away.

The man slowly stood back up, gritting his teeth his eyes full of rage and anger as he raised his left arm above his head, palm open. "I was trained by the best, I was made to FIGHT!" Fire began to engulf his hand as he slowly walked towards Garnet. The fire in his hand grew and grew until the flames expanded to the size of a volleyball. "Now…..Let me show you WHAT A REAL WARRIOR CAN DO!" He roared. Stepping forward like a pitcher, he threw a fireball directly at Garnet. It roared through the air at incredible speed as it flew towards Garnet. "Garnet! Look out!" Steven cried. Garnet raised her arms in front of her body just as the fireball made contact. BOOOOM! A massive shockwave echoed throughout the beach as fire and sparks flew everywhere. A massive smoke column billowed out of a crater where Garnet had once stood as something flew out of the smoke column and smashed against the rocky wall of the temple, rocking it and spraying rocks everywhere. "GARNET!" Steven cried out, coughing a bit as black smoke wafted over to where he and Lapis stood. Garnet got on her hands and knees, groaning a bit as she rubbed soot from her visor. The entire front of her body was covered in ash and soot and there was a massive scorch mark on her gauntlets. Her hair was a bit on fire as she shook her head still dazed. Steven knew he had to stop this, before more chaos could ensue.

The man looked at Garnet, a deep hatred in his eyes as he walked towards her, igniting his fists on fire. "You thought me dead, my kind erased from your precious little star maps. You were so very wrong." He spat, his flaming outline glowing brighter and brighter. " You Homeworld parasites should have known better." He spoke as he walked through the column of smoke, fire licking at his boots. He walked past Steven and Lapis, not even glancing in their direction as he finally stopped just a few inches away from Garnet.

"You cannot kill what refuses to die." He growled as he activated his gem, producing his flaming sword. "The line of warriors has grown weak over the decades." He said as Garnet tried to get to her feet. He planted his foot into her back and pushed down hard, pinning her to the floor. Garnet struggled as hard as she could but that blast had knocked a lot out of her, whoever he was he was fighting without mercy. Garnet had known the risks and yet had still tried to take him on. It was a careless mistake.

"Release her!" A voice called from behind the man. He quickly turned his head, eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. Pearl and Amethyst were back on their feet, weapons drawn and running in his direction. Pearl leapt up into the air, twirling her spear as she prepared to throw. As soon as she had a clear shot, she threw it as hard as she could in his direction. It spiraled through the air towards him at incredible speed, whistling as it went along. The man swung his sword upward just as the spear was inches away from impaling him. KLANG! Sparks flew everywhere as Pearl's spear spun high into the air, behind the Temple and out of sight. Pearl landed in a crouched position and lunged at the man. He ducked low, still standing on top of Garnet as he dodged her attack and with one swift motion, caught her in the chest.

Pearl flew back a few feet and landed on her back hard. She cringed as she felt her bruises from earlier sting her, she knew that she couldn't fight in this condition, that she should wait until her healing factor kicked in, but that wasn't an option. This…...Thing, had to be stopped before any humans were harmed…..or worse. Suddenly, a shadowy blur flew overhead towards the figure kicking up sand and rocks as she flew by.

Amethyst hopped over Pearl, spinning in a circle as she moved towards the figure and Garnet at lightning speed. A tornado of sand, rocks and her own whip engulfed her as she closed in on the man. The figure clenched his fists tightly, raising two fingers in front of his face as he closed his eyes and began to hum in a rhythmic sort of tune. "Time to WHIP it!" She cackled as she prepared to dive at him.

Suddenly the man stopped humming and opened his eyes. They were shimmering and releasing an orange glow which surprised Amethyst. He quickly jabbed his finger and lightly touched her gem which released a purple glowing ripple across her body, then he touched her stomach, releasing another ripple across her body and finally with one quick tap on her forehead which released another ripple across her body, she slammed into the sand right next to Garnet. Amethyst tried to move, but found she couldn't. It felt as if every muscle was frozen in place and no matter how hard she struggled she still couldn't move. She tried to talk, to warn the others of what had happened but her mouth was stiff too. All she could see was sand, sand and more sand. She had landed face first into the sand next to a struggling Garnet who was desperately trying to get the man off her so she could check on Amethyst to see if she was ok.

"Get…..OFF me!" Garnet roared as she finally managed to grab his left leg and rolled in the opposite direction. The man cried out as he flailed around and finally fell onto his back dazed. Garnet hopped up onto her feet and ran towards where the man lay. She lunged on top of him and wrapped her hands around his throat squeezing tightly. The man grabbed her hands gasping for air as he tried to separate them from his throat.

"Surrender now or I will-" She began but was cut short "Y…...you'll w…what? D….destroy me?…..L….like you d…..ack! Destroyed…..my fr….friends?" He gasped as he slowly brought his legs to a crouch behind Garnet. "It…..it's easy t...to forget…..af….after all…...urk! It….it wa...wasn't…..your k...kind who we….were hun….gah! Hunted do...down and….and….shattered!" He choked at her as he clawed at her hands desperate to escape her grip. "Look! I don't know what your on about!" She yelled, squeezing tighter. "L…...Li….Liar!" He spat out as he swiftly brought his knees up into her back, flinging her off of him. Garnet sailed over the man and tumbled a few feet away from him. She managed to slow herself down and then finally managed to stop herself. She crawled onto her knees, dazed and stunned by the blow as the ringing in her ears made her cringe. She shook her head as she looked up. The man charged at her, spun and kicked her in the face. Garnet grunted, grabbing the man's foot and violently smashing him on the ground once, twice, three times before twirling him above her head and throwing him like a frisbee onto the beach. Garnet panted. She had never been so exhausted before, usually she could stop whatever came her way but this man was something else entirely.

"You guys! Stop fighting!" Steven cried out as he ran towards Garnet, abandoning Lapis. The man was afraid, Steven could tell by the look in the man's eye. He had to end this to know why the man was so spooked by the gems. "Please stop!"

The man stood up slowly, head lowered so his face was hidden. He staggered a bit before settling himself. "You can't beat someone who has NOTHING left to live for!" The man looked at his fists and clenched them angrily. He raised his head, a look of pure hatred on his face as he pointed at Garnet. "You can tell your head officer that it was a mistake to only send five puny gems to stop me. You truly have underestimated me and now…" He raised his fist and drew his sword from his gem raising it to his face. "You…...will…...PAY!" He roared as his blade ignited on fire and he ran at Garnet. Garnet braced for another attack, she knew that this fight couldn't go on forever but she had to keep going. For the others, for humanity, for Steven. As the man leapt into the air, sword poised to strike and fury in his face Garnet braced for the end.

WATHOOMM! Garnet, Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst all gasped as a massive tidal wave rose up and slammed the man into the cliff wall. Steven looked behind him. "Lapis!" He cried. Lapis was standing behind him, one arm stretched out in front of her, fingers spread out as she slowly began to clenc her fist, rage plastered on her face. The water that held the man twisted and morphed into a ball and surrounded his head. The man struggled and squirmed against the water as little glowing orange cracks began to form on his face. The cracks grew larger as they spread across his entire face. The man clawed at his throat, thrashing and fighting with all his strength but to no avail


End file.
